The
book entitled “The Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety” was written by the
Chinese scholar Guo Jujing during the Yuan Dynasty.His pen-name was Yizi, and he is known in Japan as Kaku Kyokei.The book recounts the self-sacrificing behavior of twenty-four sons and
daughters who go to extreme lengths to honor their parents, stepparents,
grandparents and in-laws.This series is
unusual in that the shape of the title cartouche varies from print to
print.Robinson lists only six prints in
this series, and the total number is unknown.These prints are each about 10 by 14 inches (25 by 36 centimeters), a
size known as ôban.

Japanese name: Teiran

Chinese name: Ting Lan

Legend: Teiran carved wooden images of his parents to
which he regularly paid his respects.Returning home one day he found a frown on the face of the statue of
his mother and learned that his wife had insulted his mother’s memory.He apologized to the wooden image and
severely scolded his wife.Here he is
upbraiding two visitors who failed to show proper respect to his parents’
statues.

Robinson: S79.1

Japanese name: Ôshô

Chinese name: Wang Hsiang

Legend: When his stepmother wanted to eat fresh fish in
mid-winter, Ôshô went to a frozen pond and lay naked on the ice until it
melted, in order to catch fish for her

Robinson: S79.2

Japanese name: Tôei (董永)

Chinese name: Tung Yung or Dong Yong

Legend: Tôei indentured himself to a weaver in order to
raise money for his father's burial.One day he met a woman who, in the first hour after their marriage,
wove enough silk to fulfill the terms of his contract and then revealed
herself to be the Heavenly Weaver (Shokujo) before ascending to heaven.Here Tôei meets the Heavenly Weaver on the
shore.

Robinson: S79.3

Japanese
name: Kwakkyo

Chinese
name: Kuo Chü

Legend: Kwakkyo, lamenting the fact that his aged mother
was going hungry because food was being eaten by his infant son, prepared to
kill the baby.While digging the grave
he discovered a pot of gold with an attached note (or inscription) that the
treasure was meant for him.Here Kwakkyo
and his wife discover the pot of gold buried outside their home.

Robinson: S79.4

Image courtesy of Gary D. Gross

Japanese name:
Kôkaku (江革)

Chinese name:
Chiang Ko or Jiang Ge

Legend:
Kôkaku pleading with three armed robbers for the life of his mother who is
kneeling in the roadway

Robinson:
S79.5

Another state of the above
design with the light blue sky reaching the ground on the left

Japanese name:
Enshi

Chinese name:
Yen Tzu

Legend:
Enshi disguised himself in a deer skin in order to capture a doe, which he
could milk in order to cure his parents’ eye disease.Hidden in the deer herd, he was mistaken
for a deer by hunters who roundly scolded him.However, when they heard his explanation
the hunters had only praise.Here
Eenshi is being shot at from a wooded hill by a hunter of markedly European
appearance.

Robinson:
S79.6

NOTE: This
print has the same title (二十四孝童子鑑) and general format and as the 1840 series, Mirror
of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety.However, it is dated 8th month of 1853, and Robinson lists
it as part of the above series.I am
grateful to Dom Gilormini for this image.

Japanese name:
Kyôshi (姜詩)

Chinese name:
Chiang Shih (Jiang Shi)

Description:
Kyôshi’s wife carrying a bucket of water in the rain for her aged
mother-in-law

Robinson:
Unlisted

Japanese name:
Chôkô (張孝) and Chôrei (張禮)

Chinese name:
Chang Hsiao and Chang Li

Description:
Chôkô and Chôrei were brothers who, to support their 80 year old mother,
gathered berries in the forest.One
day on his way home Chôkô was attacked by robbers.As he had no money, the robbers wanted to
kill him, but Chôkô begged that he might first deliver the food.Just then Chôrei appeared and offered his
own life in place of his brother’s.So
impressed were the robbers that they set both brothers free and gave them
salt and rice.Here Chôrei is offering
his own life in place of his brother’s.

Robinson:
Unlisted

NOTE: This and the next image are key
block prints.They are impressions
pulled from the first woodblock made by a carver from the artist’s original
drawing.The artist would write
instructions for each color on a separate key block print, and the woodblock
for each color was cut using one of these as a guide.In addition to being a guide for
carving the color woodblocks, the key blocks were also used to apply black
ink (usually) in the printing process.

Japanese name:
Shujushô (朱壽昌)

Chinese name:
Chu Shou-ch’ang

Description:
Shujushô was separated from his mother at age seven and later became a high
government official.At age 55 he
retired from office and began to search for his mother.After much prayer and writing a sutra with
his own blood he found his mother.Here Shujushô is searching for his mother.

Robinson:
Unlisted

“Robinson” refers to listing in Kuniyoshi: The Warrior-Prints by Basil
William Robinson (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 1982) and its privately published supplement.